


See the Light

by aeriiin



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Hopeful Ending, M/M, Mentions of Injuries, Minor Angst, Mission Wrap-Up, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26269540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriiin/pseuds/aeriiin
Summary: With great people all around him, doing incredible things day in and day out, it was hard for Jesse to think of himself as anything more than a small drop of water in the ocean by comparison.But sometimes, it was nice to shed some light on the good they all had accomplished, and Jesse knew a certain archer who could use such a reminder.
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	See the Light

**Author's Note:**

> **This fic was originally posted ages ago to tumblr and I kept forgetting to upload it here. Oops!

Some days it was hard to see the big picture. 

Overwatch. This world-wide organization dedicated to keeping the peace and protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. They had the best people with the best of intentions. It was no wonder everyone looked up to them. 

They looked up to folks like Dr. Zhou, who studied how to fix the dying climate of a world that broke it in the first place. Folks like Lieutenant Wilhelm, who were shields in wars they even didn’t start. Hell, even grouchy ol’ Gabe was willing to do whatever it took to make things right, even if he had to do something wrong in the process.  With great people all around him, doing incredible things day in and day out, it was hard for Jesse to think of himself as anything more than a small drop of water in the ocean by comparison. 

Standing out on the top-floor balcony of the International Numbani Conference Center and looking out at the millions of twinkling city lights below, however, made him feel like so much more than a small drop.

“Enjoying the view?” 

“In a way, yeah.” With a soft laugh, Jesse turned his head as Hanzo came up beside him and joined him resting against the railing. He snuffed out the last bit of his cigar on the ground, leaning forward a bit as he nodded towards the archer. “How you holdin’ up?”

Hanzo waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll live, but Lúcio has already informed me that I will be on bedrest when we get back.” Though his hair and clothes were still mussed up from the fight earlier that evening, he appeared relatively unharmed -- save for the thin bandage over his right brow and the padded gauze taped to his clavicle, of course.

It still amazed Jesse how the man could still look so regal even when beaten and bruised. He chuckled again, his breath still wheezy from the bruise that was surely forming on his rib. “Reckon Ang is gonna tell us all somethin’ similar when we see her.” 

“Indeed.” Hanzo turned his gaze outward, a rare grin curling on his face. There was a moment where Jesse saw his lips twitch, as if sounding out words to say, before the man spoke once more. His voice was hesitant, quiet, yet loud in the relative silence of the night. “I told you that I have been to Numbani before, yes?”

He hummed. “Think so, yeah. That was a while back though, right?”

A nod. “Two years after I left the clan, I came here for a contract. It was quick money, easy enough, and I needed to distract myself from...” Hanzo looked down at his hands, the words unspoken left hanging in the air. Jesse waited for him to continue, watching his face carefully all the while. “I did not... see this place in the best light when I was here last.”

Again, he waited, and Hanzo sighed. “Or perhaps, I was unwilling to see it before. I don’t know.”

Sensing the end of the man’s thoughts, Jesse shifted in place to stare out at the cityscape below. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, Talon troops had flooded the very building they stood atop and had wrecked absolute havoc on the City of Harmony itself. Part of some sort of fear-mongering play by Doomfist, he figured. Were it not for the gentle smoldering cinders that rose into the night air and the bruises they wore with pride, there would almost be no trace of the terrorists in the city now.

Jesse smiled when he saw that Hanzo was just as awestruck by the sight as he was. Nudging the man beside him, the gunslinger gestured outward with a free hand. “Kinda crazy to think ‘bout it all, huh?”

Hanzo didn’t look away, but tilted his head up in question. “How do you mean?”

There was something so utterly endearing about that little action to him in that moment, and Jesse grinned wider, tipping his hat back as he looked out towards the midnight sky, the stars just barely visible past the glitter and glitz of the twinkling neon signs and skyscrapers stories below. “We were just down there, fighting for our lives.” He shrugged. “An’ now? It’s almost like it never happened.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Hanzo’s arm clutch the sleeve of his gi tightly. “But it did happen. Thousands were hurt, some killed from the initial blast, we can’t ignore that--”

“Whoa, whoa, partner.” Jesse rested a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder, wary of the bandages. Hanzo flinched and looked up at him cautiously. “Easy there. I ain’t sayin’ it never happened, or that we got out without a scratch. Hell, I’m surprised we got out at all, given our track record--”

When he saw Hanzo’s face fall further, Jesse shook his head.  _ Not helping.  _ With a deep sigh, Jesse turned back towards Numbani and listened to the sounds of life returning to a previously scared city. Car horns began to honk loudly in traffic, sirens of emergency vehicles were growing more and more distant, and slowly but surely, the din of a proper city was returning. All that white noise that used to drive him up a wall felt comforting now.

“Look at it like this.” Waving his other hand out, he motioned towards the city lights. “Every light out there is someone we saved tonight, Hanzo. They get to go home, be with their families.” his eyes briefly flickered down at Hanzo, “Loved ones. Friends. They get to go do that ‘cause we were there to help. ‘Cause we were there an’ we did somethin’. May only seem like one or two folks in the moment, but it all adds up in the end, right?”

At those words, it was like a light had flipped on inside of Hanzo. His dour expression melted into something bright, and his dark eyes shimmering under the sparkle of neon. They were warm. They were beautiful. They were full of something he had never seen before in the archer.

They were full of hope.

Jesse felt his heart stammer in his chest. All those gentle feelings flooding his heart were now threatening to burst forth, words hitching in the back of his throat and mouth. He knew he had a soft spot for the man a while back, but here and now, he realized it ran so much deeper than liking how his hair looks when it was down.

It was how he had come to see the archer grow in his time at Overwatch, how he had seen this man go from distant and cautious to a man who truly wants to do what is right. Not just Hanzo either, but Jesse himself has changed for the better around him. God, it was a million things and it was everything, and  _ the words were right on his tongue. _

Jesse saw the way Hanzo smiled so softly at the world below them, and suddenly all words were lost to him, as if they had never existed in the first place. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Hanzo was oblivious to his inner struggle, and let out a deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut in utter serenity.

“Peace never looked so beautiful to me.”

Jesse couldn’t help but lean his cheek against his hand as he stared up at Hanzo.  _ Maybe someday I’ll say it. I’ll tell you how I feel, and I’ll say it with no hesitation. _

“I know what’cha mean.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! As i mentioned on tumblr when i original posted, this fic was heavily inspired by listening to "i see the light' from the tangled soundtrack for hours on end. Wasn't necessarily going for a song-fic, but rather the feeling of the song in context with these two!
> 
> As always, you can find me over at my [tumblr](http://aerihead.tumblr.com/) and my [twitter](https://twitter.com/aerihead/)!


End file.
